Walnut Creek hosts a gathering of local officials on Thursday August 29th, 2007 to address Energy Efficiency, Sustainability and Climate Change. See attached.
Initiated by Moraga Vice Mayor, Lynda Deschambault, the plan is to encourage all 19 Contra Costa County Cities, to take local action on energy efficiency and sustainability. To date, Contra Costa County, along with the cities of Richmond, El Cerrito, Hercules, Lafayette, Walnut Creek, and Moraga have joined the Cities for Climate Protection Campaign. Some are surprised to see so many cities in this sometimes conservative county taking such a strong stand on this topic. But as city budgets continue to tighten---energy efficiency and cost cutting sustainability measures are becoming a mainstream way of doing city business.
Ed Balico, the Mayor of Hercules says: "Taking on the issue of Global warming is something I feel is important to the residents of my community. By addressing this important issue we are not only solving environmental problems, but we are positioning our city for future generations to enjoy the same things we have. Not only do we have the benefit of clean air, less waste, and less energy. But energy efficiency saves our towns money!"
A reduction in energy use will lead to monthly savings for the city. Supporting and encouraging local shopping thru smart growth and livable communities generates sales tax revenue for cities. Alternative transportation programs, reduce traffic and lower the wear and tear on infrastructure Alternative energy and use of recycled resources, such as rubberized asphalt roads (recycled tires) opens up new opportunities for applying for a new pool of grant monies.
Deschambault says that "so many of the values of a ‘sustainable city’ have already been part of our town’s achievements over the last several years, and this just really institutionalizes it". Moraga has passed a construction and demolition debris ordinance, an Integrated Pesticide Management Plan, recently started curbside food recycling, and just last month began encouraging green buildings in the Design Review Board guideline process.
Contra Costa isn’t alone in its commitment to make theirs a livable community and at the same time to contribute to a larger global effort to affect climate change. More than 656 mayors, representing a total population of over 72 MILLION citizens have signed the US Mayor’s agreement on Global warming and many of them are writing sustainability action plans. http://www.usmayors.org/climateprotection/listofcities.asp
Through the project, the hope is that each Contra Costa County city will inventory their current energy footprint (both for local government operations as well as the residential community), set targets for reducing their greenhouse gas emissions, and develop a local climate action plan for reaching those targets. The action plans will include measures that serve to increase energy and transportation efficiency and reduce waste and water usage.;
The project will launch on Thursday, August 29th at a meeting in Walnut Creek. The workshop is put on by ICLEI’s-City for Climate Protection Program www.iclei.org.
Contact: Mr. Xico Manarolla at xico.manarolla@iclei.org, (510) 844-0669 x 303
Dear Contra Costa County Mayors and staff,
ICLEI – Local Governments for Sustainability is happy to announce the initiation of the Contra Costa County Climate Protection Project! ICLEI will be training cities on completing a municipal operations-level emissions inventory and assisting each participating jurisdiction to gather and input data on a community scale. Since emissions inventories are broken down into municipal and community levels, ICLEI will in essence bring your jurisdiction half way to the finish line, a giant step toward increasing energy efficiency, reducing waste, cutting emissions, and creating a more sustainable community.
The Kick-Off meeting for this project is being held on Wednesday, August 29th in the 3rd floor conference room of Walnut Creek’s City Hall, from 9:00 AM to 1:00 PM. The address is 1666 North Main Street, Walnut Creek, CA 94596. Please save this date! Breakfast will be served.
As the goal of this meeting is to coordinate and establish project objectives and scope, it is important that we have representation from each of the participating jurisdictions.
Both elected officials and staff members are encouraged to attend. The morning sessions will be geared toward both staff and elected officials, while the afternoon session will be most relevant to the staff liaisons who will be responsible for providing the necessary energy and waste data during the emissions inventory process.
Other objectives for this meeting are: to inform people about ICLEI’s inventory process and why it is important to set an emissions reduction target, to talk to your neighboring cities and coordinate efforts, and to find out what new tools ICLEI is developing to help local governments reach their greenhouse gas emissions reduction targets. In the coming months, ICLEI will continue to provide trainings and assistance on its inventory software.
If you plan to attend this kick-off workshop, please RSVP to Mr. Xico Manarolla at xico.manarolla@iclei.org no later than Friday, August 17th with the names of people who will attend from your jurisdiction. Meeting agendas will be distributed in the coming weeks.
I look forward to seeing you there!
Warm Regards,
Xco Manarolla
Program Associate
ICLEI - Local Governments for Sustainability U.S.A.
436 14th Street, Suite 1520
Oakland, CA 94612
+1-510/844-0699 x303
+1-510/844-0698 Fax
www.iclei.org/usa
From: "Xico Manarolla"
Subj: Agenda and RSVPs for Contra Costa County Kick-Off Meeting
Date: Wed Aug 22, 2007 11:37 am
Dear Colleagues,
As our Contra Costa County Project Kick Off meeting fast approaches, I wanted to send a follow-up e-mail to all those who have already RSVP'd and for those who are still waiting to do so.
ICLEI - Local Governments for Sustainability is excited to bring all Contra Costa County jurisdictions together in order to discuss the benefits of creating an emissions inventory, and how doing so may affect compliance under local legislation like AB 32. Panama Bartholomy, Advisor to Chairperson Pfannenstiel at the California Energy Commission, will give a presentation on these issues and will be available for questions after his talk.
Additionally, ICLEI will describe its inventory process and software so that your jurisdiction can decide if joining ICLEI is the next appropriate step. In the following months, Contra Costa County ICLEI members will receive all the data necessary to complete a community level inventory and training in order to complete a municipal level inventory. It's like we have gotten you half way to the finish line! Attached is an agenda for the meeting. Many thanks go out to Walnut Creek for hosting the event and to Mayor Susan Rainey who will be in attendance to welcome the group. The Kick-Off meeting for this project is being held on Wednesday, August 29th in the 3rd floor conference room of Walnut Creek’s City Hall, from 9:00 AM to 1:00 PM. The address is 1666 North Main Street, Walnut Creek, CA 94596.
Breakfast and a light lunch will be served.
If you plan to attend this kick-off workshop but have not RSVP'd, please e-mail Mr. Xico Manarolla at xico.manarolla@iclei.org no later than Friday, August24th with the names of people who will attend from your jurisdiction. Space is limited, so please RSVP as soon as possible.
I look forward to seeing you there!
Warm Regards,
-Xico Manarolla
Program Associate
For more information about membership, please feel free to contact Susan Ode by e-mail at susan.ode@iclei.org or by phone at 510-844-0699 ext 303. Contra Costa County and the cities of El Cerrito, Moraga, Walnut Creek, Martinez, Pinole, Hercules and Richmond have already joined ICLEI and have begun the data gathering process.
Xico Manarolla
Program Associate
ICLEI - Local Governments for Sustainability U.S.A.
436 14th Street, Suite 1520
Oakland, CA 94612
U.S.A.
+1-510/844-0699 x303
+1-510/844-0698 Fax